Cord Blood Mercury and Early Child Development: Effects of the World Trade Center

摘要

Lederman et al. (2008) assessed Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) and Verbal and Full Intelligence Quotient Scores (VFIQS) (at 36 months of age for PDI and 48 months for VFIQS) as a function of prenatal mercury exposure (corrected for maternal fish intake during pregnancy) resulting from potential exposure after the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster. This timely and interesting study took into consideration maternal variables known to influence cord Hg (possibly reflecting fish consumption) and also controlled for most of the known maternal characteristics that could affect neuro-developmental outcomes. However, two of the most important variables in the context of infant exposure and neurodevelopment were left out of the model: early (pregnancy and postnatal) thimerosal-Hg exposure and the mode of feeding (Dorea 2007).